Chapter 767 – Three Thousand Mirror Ruins 34

Chapter 767 – Three Thousand Mirror Ruins 34

Upon hearing this, Mo Lan pointed to the shaded regions on the western and northern parts of the map marked with stone forests and woodlands.

“The species I’m hunting is also from the leopard cat family—specifically phantom leopard cats. They despise bright light and prefer environments with interplaying shadows and shifting illumination. They frequently appear in stone forests and dense woodlands during spring mornings and autumn dusks. You need to avoid the harsh glare of summer midday and post-snowfall winter conditions. These locations here have the most suitable environments.”

Lin Yue pointed to an area on the map marked with flower seas and meadows, primarily in the south and east. “The charm fox I’m hunting prefers places with abundant blooms. Spring and summer are the best hunting seasons. The southern ‘Blossom Valley’ and eastern ‘Fragrance Plains’ are the ideal choices. But with the seasons shifting so rapidly now, we’ll need some luck. If we come across large flower fields along the way, we could stop and try our luck there too.”

Her tone carried a hint of anticipation.

Su Yu was concise and to the point: “Razor-claw weasel. Prefers wetlands and humus-rich soil. Easiest to find along the edges of ‘Whispering Wetlands’ to the northeast and in the creek-side shrub zones at the southern foot of the Cold Mist Mountains to the north.”

Zhao Wuchen’s finger pointed deeper into the Whispering Wetlands. “Mine is the rot-moss swamp crocodile. It appears in deep wetlands and swamp zones—close to where Su Yu’s target mirror beast can be found, but more dangerous. Rot-moss swamp crocodiles are entirely dependent on aquatic habitats. Their traces are easier to find in spring and summer; in winter, they hibernate deep underwater or buried in mud.”

“Color-shifting iguana. Prefers hot, dry conditions—rocky areas and sandy terrain. The southern ‘Crimson Rock Slopes’ and the dry platforms in the western stone forest region are ideal locations. Need to avoid rainfall and cold weather,” Chen Xingye said.

Zhou Ming rumbled: “Stone-armored badger. Hills, hard ground… they’re found in many places. The western stone forest region and southern hill belt both work—just can’t be too muddy.” His target had a fairly broad range.

Bai Wei said softly: “Light-healing butterfly. As long as it’s a clear day with sunshine, they can appear in any sunlit meadow or flower patch… no fixed location.”

Xiang Yufan: “Windchaser antelope. Open terrain, windward slopes. The central meadows and southern open plains both work—just need patience and good timing.”

Ren Miao: “Water-tongue frog. Must have clean water sources. Whispering Wetlands, eastern streams, scattered ponds in the south.”

Zhu Rao: “Earth-shaker bull. Dry grasslands, sun-facing slopes. The southern ‘Long Mane Prairie’ is most suitable.”

Ding Yan: “Flame Archer. Woodland undergrowth. Found in many forested areas, but strongest in summer. Need to look for vigorously growing specimens.”

After everyone had chimed in with their targets, they looked at the hunting locations marked on the map and discovered that their target areas were quite scattered, covering virtually every direction across the Kaleidoscope Wilderness.

Wang Jingnan studied the map with a slight furrow in his brow. “Everyone’s target locations are really spread out! Good thing we’ve prepared plenty of supplies—we could walk a full circuit around the entire Kaleidoscope Wilderness and still be fine…”

Mo Lan traced a winding route across the map with her finger.

“I propose we take the main route westward. We head for the western stone forest region first—that area covers the primary target zones for me, Wang Jingnan, Chen Xingye, and Zhou Ming, and the terrain along the way is relatively diverse.

We’ll pass through some open meadows, streams, and small patches of flower fields. With any luck, we might encounter the target mirror beasts for Xiang Yufan, Ren Miao, and Bai Wei along the way.”

She paused briefly, then continued: “After we finish exploring the west, we’ll decide based on seasonal changes and our progress whether to head south into the Long Mane Prairie to search for Zhu Rao, Ding Yan, and Lin Yue’s target mirror beasts, or northeast into the Whispering Wetlands to search for Su Yu, Zhao Wuchen, and Ren Miao’s targets.”

This plan balanced efficiency with the needs of most team members, while also providing flexible options for later.

Chen Xingye voiced his approval: “I agree with heading west. Along the way, we need to pay close attention to the sky and seasonal changes, and record the patterns of seasonal rotation.

If we can predict the next seasonal phase, our movements will be much more targeted—for example, deliberately avoiding winters that might cause target mirror beasts to hibernate, or seizing the active periods of spring and summer.”

With Chen Xingye—widely acknowledged as the most knowledgeable among them—in agreement, the others had even fewer objections.

After all, the ultimate goal of this field expedition was for everyone to capture their target mirror beast. The order in which they did so didn’t matter.

Seeing that no one else had objections, Wang Jingnan made the final call:

“Good! Then it’s settled—our main route goes west, heading for the stone forest region. We depart first thing tomorrow morning.

Everyone get a good rest tonight. The night watch rotation follows the original plan.

Remember—all actions are to follow orders. Absolutely no one is to leave the group on their own!”

As for the night watch arrangements, Wang Jingnan, being team leader, had already established them back when he was drafting the expedition plan.

Each night was divided into four watch shifts, three people per shift, each lasting an hour and a half.

To ensure each group had sufficient response capability, the four members with the strongest martial combat abilities—Mo Lan, Su Yu, Zhao Wuchen, and Lin Yue—each led a team.

The remaining members were evenly distributed across the groups based on their combat strength.

First shift: Lin Yue, Wang Jingnan, and Chen Xingye. Second shift: Su Yu, Zhou Ming, and Xiang Yufan. Third shift: Zhao Wuchen, Ding Yan, and Zhu Rao. Fourth shift: Mo Lan, Ren Miao, and Bai Wei.

With the route roughly decided and the night watch schedule already set, everyone felt reassured. One by one, they retrieved tents from their spatial equipment.

Spatial equipment was ubiquitous in this world—even tents were stored fully assembled inside spatial containers. All they had to do now was pull them out and arrange them around the warm campfire.

The tents came in all sorts of styles—some luxurious, some practical, some simple—but they were quickly and neatly set up, forming a small ring of camp.

Once the tents were in place, everyone except the three on first watch crawled inside to rest.

Even though they had just woken up and arrived not long ago, they still needed to adjust to the time difference and acclimate to the Kaleidoscope Wilderness’s schedule.

Night deepened. The campfire crackled and popped. Nights in the Kaleidoscope Wilderness were far from peaceful.

Near the end of the first shift, two nocturnal weasels drawn by the firelight and the scent of people tried to approach the camp. Lin Yue spotted them in time. Though she was somewhat flustered, crying out in alarm repeatedly, with Wang Jingnan and Chen Xingye’s coordination, they successfully dispatched the small nuisances.

When Su Yu’s team of Zhou Ming and Xiang Yufan took over, they encountered a slightly thornier situation.

Three shadow wolves prowled around the camp’s perimeter.

Without a word, Su Yu charged straight at them. Her fighting style was as ferocious as ever. Zhou Ming and Xiang Yufan provided support from the flanks, and Lin Yue’s team also backed them up, quickly driving the shadow wolves away.

Fearing they might attract the rest of the pack, they chose not to kill them.

During Zhao Wuchen’s watch, a swarm of carrion beetles came rustling along from the direction where the insect carcasses had been buried earlier.

After confirming they were only carrion beetles, he signaled Ding Yan and Zhu Rao to step back. These insects only fed on dead flesh and wouldn’t approach anything with a living aura—they posed no threat.

On nights like these, it was best to avoid unnecessary fights. Even while keeping watch, one had to conserve energy.